


It's The Only Way

by Dreamin



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, The Final Problem AU, dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-09 06:51:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12271140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamin/pseuds/Dreamin
Summary: Eurus forces Sherlock and Molly to have sex if they want to escape Sherrinford.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MizJoely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MizJoely/gifts).



> I'll admit it, I'm leaving my comfort zone behind as I write this. I just hope I can do it justice.

Sherlock woke with a pounding headache, a dry mouth, and the feeling of cold stone beneath his bare flesh. _What…_ There was something else, the sound of a woman crying. He lifted his head and saw that he was naked. _Well, that explains being able to feel the floor._ Sitting up slowly, he could see a naked woman at the far side of the room, curled into a fetal position in the corner. _That explains the crying._ After a moment, he realized who it was. “Molly?” he asked, dumbfounded.

Molly raised her head with a gasp. Her eyes met his and Sherlock could feel his stomach drop. _They took her. They went to Bart’s and took her from a place where she’s supposed to be safe. They didn’t hurt her but they forced her to strip then they locked her in here._

_With me._

“You’re awake…” she said quietly, wincing. Her voice was hoarse from crying and her cheeks were streaked with tears. Molly slowly stood up, Sherlock politely looking away, then she quickly sat down again when her legs proved to be too unsteady. She crawled over to him. “Sherlock, who were those men? Why did they take us? Where are we?”

“I believe I can answer that, Dr. Hooper,” came Eurus’ voice from a hidden speaker. “Those men work for me. They took you because, like my older brother, I’m a scientist – I like to experiment. You’re in Sherrinford, a maximum-security prison for the criminally insane.”

“Eurus,” Sherlock explained at Molly’s confused look. “The younger sister I forgot I had.” He looked towards the ceiling, where the sound seemed to be coming from. “There was no need to bring Molly here – I’m the one you want to hurt.”

“On the contrary – hurting you is **exactly** why I had to bring her.” She chuckled, a sound that chilled Sherlock to the bone. “Now, Sherlock, if you want to leave this room, you have to pass the test.”

“And that test would be?” he asked warily.

“It’s simple – you have to have sex with Molly.” At her words, he and Molly stared at each other, shocked. “I’ve already taken care of the first step – undressing. You’re not leaving here, Sherlock, until you’ve come once and she’s come twice.”

 _Easy enough,_ Sherlock thought. _We just have to masturbate-_

“Oh, and masturbation doesn’t count,” Eurus said, cutting into his thoughts. “Sorry, Sherlock – no shortcuts. I’m willing to be generous and give you a measure of privacy – I’ll cut the audio in a moment. The only camera on this room is infrared. I can see the heat coming off your bodies, so I’ll know if you’re having sex.”

Molly looked like she was going to be sick and Sherlock couldn’t blame her. “How long do we have?” he asked.

“As long as you need. Ooo, look at how nice I’m being! Though, I suggest you not take too long – I wasn’t planning on feeding you while you’re here.” There was a pause. “Oh, and Molly?”

“Yes?” she asked warily.

“Sorry about this.” Eurus actually sounded a little remorseful to Sherlock’s ears. “I’m afraid you’re collateral damage.” She paused. “Three orgasms, Sherlock. Turning off the audio now.”

Molly swallowed hard. “I can’t do this…”

Sherlock gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You have to, Molly,” he said gently but firmly. “We both do. Eurus won’t let us go unless we do.”

“We could refuse,” she said suddenly. “We could refuse to touch each other. She’ll have to let us go at some point.”

“No, she won’t – she’s already killed innocent people to get me this far. I am not giving her an excuse to do anything to you.” He sighed quietly. “I’m sorry she dragged you into this.”

“How did she even know about me?” Sherlock had never heard her sound so … broken. “I’m nobody.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” he said, suddenly angry. Her eyes widened and he took a deep breath then continued, calmer. “Eurus knew Moriarty, she knows how … attached you are to me. She’s probably worked out that it was you who helped me fake my death.”

She didn’t say anything for a minute, then two. Finally, just as Sherlock was worried she’d gone catatonic, she said quietly, “Why sex? She could have demanded anything, why would she want us to have sex?”

“She is forcing us to do the most difficult thing in the world for us. For you, it’s having sex with a man you’re in love with who’s not in love with you.” He ignored her wince. “For me it’s having sex, full stop.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m a virgin, Molly. I just know that sex would be too intense, not to mention addictive, for me to handle, so I’ve never had it.”

She swallowed hard. “You’re saying Eurus is trying to break us?”

“Yes. Mainly me. Like she said, you’re collateral damage. I can’t apologize enough for this, Molly.”

“There’s no way out of this?”

“No, I’m sorry. I’ve already thought out every possible scenario and the only way out of here is for us to have sex.”

Molly took a deep breath. “We can’t – I’m ovulating and I’m not on the pill. So, unless Eurus suddenly gives us some condoms, we can’t.”

 _Bloody hell…_ “I thought you were still taking birth control pills.”

“Since I haven’t been sexually active in over a year, I didn’t see the point.”

He groaned quietly then got to his feet and walked over to the room’s single door, pounding on it a couple of times. “I know someone’s out there. Tell my deranged sister that we need some condoms if we’re going to do this.” He went back over to Molly and sat down.

Eurus’ response came a few minutes later from the speaker. “Oh, Sherlock, did you think I don’t know about Molly’s fertile state? Sorry, no condoms. You’re just going to have to take your chances. And if you’re thinking about the ‘pull and pray’ method, don’t. I’ll be able to see everything your bodies do, so don’t try anything foolish. Audio out.”

Sherlock turned to Molly, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry.”

“So am I,” she said quietly. “We … we just have to pray I don’t get pregnant. I can’t handle a child right now, Sherlock, I just can’t…”

“Neither can I.” He gently took her hands. “Molly … I want to make this as pleasurable for you as I can. I-”

“Don’t,” she said quickly. “Don’t try to make this into something it’s not. We’re not a couple, we’re not going to making love. Hell, this isn’t even sex, it’s fucking. Look at us, it’s like we’re not even human. We’re just a couple of animals in captivity who are going to rut while some scientist watches us.”

“Don’t think about the camera,” he murmured. “Don’t think about Eurus or the fact that we’re trapped here.” He reached out a hand to smooth her hair. “Don’t think about anything but me.”

“I can’t help it. Do you know how many times I’ve fantasized about having sex with you, Sherlock? Too many to count. And none of those fantasies were like this. I never dreamed that one day I’d be forced to have sex with you.”

He thought for a moment. “What if it’s not forced?”

“What?”

“Hear me out. What if we’re doing this because we want to? You’re a beautiful, desirable woman, Molly, and any man would be lucky to have you.”

She groaned quietly. “Spare me the clichés, Sherlock. I’m over thirty and still single – I’ve heard them all.”

“I’m trying to make this easier for both of us.”

“Stop – nothing can make this easier. Nothing can make us forget that we are being forced to have sex.”

Sherlock watched her for a moment. “If I had been given a choice of any woman in the world to be my first, I would still choose you. You understand me, Molly, better than anyone else. Even John doesn’t get me half as well as you do.” He reached out to take her hand. “I know our friendship can survive this.”

She looked down at their joined hands, swallowing hard. “Our friendship can, but I don’t think my heart can.”

“I promise I’ll find a way to mend your heart,” he vowed softly. “Please, Molly, let me make this as good for you as I can.”

Molly didn’t say anything for a moment then she nodded. Sherlock stood then helped her to her feet. Once she was steady, he took her hand and kissed her knuckles then he led her to the room’s only furniture – a wooden table and two chairs.

“Sit down, sweetheart,” he murmured.

“Don’t call me that,” she said quietly as she sat down on one of the chairs. “I’m not your sweetheart, I’m not your anything.”

“You’re my friend,” he said gently as he knelt in front of her. She was sitting with her knees together and he laid his hands on her knees. “Let me pleasure you, Molly.”

She swallowed hard. “Will you stop if I ask you to?”

“I can’t stop until you’ve had an orgasm. I’ll be gentle, you know I will, but I need you to come.”

“How … how do you even know how to pleasure a woman?”

He managed a little half-smile. “Extensive study of anatomy and physiology. It’s necessary for solving crimes, I just never thought I’d use it on the most beautiful woman I know.”

“Sherlock…” Her tone was a warning, but not as strong as it could be.

“It’s true – you have an aesthetically pleasing face and a nicely proportionate figure, that is very desirable.”

“That … that’s not what you said that Christmas.”

Sherlock’s eyes dropped to her breasts. He’d been right, they were small, but they were also pert and perfect and he wanted nothing more than to have his mouth and hands on them. He could feel his cock hardening and the strength of his desire was starting to worry him. _I can’t lose my head, this won’t happen again after today._ He raised his eyes to hers. “I was an ass that Christmas, Molly. Your breasts are beautiful, **you** are beautiful, and I never should have said anything to make you feel otherwise.”

She blinked rapidly and he knew she was trying to blink away tears. “God, Sherlock… No other man I’ve met has made me cry as much as you.”

“I am truly sorry for that, Molly,” he said softly. “I wish I could promise it’ll never happen again but you and I both know it will. I can only promise it’ll never be because I’ve deliberately hurt you.” He gently squeezed her knees. “Please, Molly.”

She closed her eyes then slowly spread her knees. Part of Sherlock desperately wanted her to open her eyes, to see what he was going to do to her, but he knew it would probably be easier for her this way. _If she wants to imagine it’s someone else pleasuring her, I should let her. I owe her that much._ He saw that her curls were neatly trimmed and while her flesh was pink and inviting, he could see no sign of arousal. _I think I’d better start at the top and work my way down._ He leaned forward to softly kiss her forehead.

Her eyes shot open and she stared at him in confusion. Sherlock took the opportunity to smile at her softly, one hand coming up to stroke her cheek. She looked away and her expression could be best described as one of shame.

 _None of that,_ Sherlock thought, determined. He moved his hand to her chin, gently tilting her head until her eyes met his again. Molly was more vulnerable than he’d ever seen her and at that moment, he hated Eurus with a passion for doing that to her, to them.

“Don’t kiss me,” she said quietly.

“What?” he asked, confused. “Molly…”

“I’m serious, Sherlock. Kissing is for couples, people who are in love, or at least in lust. We’re not a couple and we never will be.”

He watched her lips, which he realized were not too small at all. “What if I said I want to kiss you?”

“Then I’d say you were lying. Just … do whatever you have to, Sherlock, but don’t kiss me.”

“Alright.” He kissed the tip of her nose, then her cheek, then her jawline, then a line down her neck.

Molly shivered, her hands going into his curls. It had been years since he’d had someone’s fingers in his hair like that and he’d forgotten how good it felt. He sucked on her skin where her neck met her shoulder and she lightly tugged on his curls. He groaned against her skin, his hands moving to her shoulders.

She was so small and delicate. He knew he had to be careful with her, lest he break her completely. Sherlock lifted his head to see that her eyes were closed again. He couldn’t help it, he had to know what she was thinking.

“Who are you thinking about?” he murmured in her ear.

“What?” she whispered, confused.

“Who are you thinking about as I touch you? Not that I mind, I know this situation is far from ideal, but I am curious. Tom? Gavin? Someone else?”

Molly swallowed hard. “It’s still you, but we’re not here. We’re at Baker Street and getting thoroughly debauched in the middle of our sitting room in the middle of the day.”

 _“Our” sitting room? I’ll have to remind her of that interesting little slip later_. He chuckled softly. “I’m sure Mrs. Hudson is pounding on her ceiling to get us to be quiet.”

She let out a little snort of laughter which was then followed by a groan of pleasure as his lips found her nipple. His other hand found her other nipple and he gave his full attention to both, ignoring his now fully-hardened cock and his body’s demand that he take her now.

_Not yet. She has to come twice, once now, again when I’m inside her. Eurus won’t let us go otherwise, and I’ll be damned if I don’t give this woman all the pleasure I can while I have the opportunity. She deserves that much at least._

He switched his mouth to her other breast, his hand sliding down her body. His fingers brushed her thigh and she instinctively tried to close her legs.

 _That won’t do at all._ He gently rubbed her thigh, willing her to relax as he laved her nipple. After a moment, she opened her legs again and he took the opportunity to move his hand between her legs. His thumb found her clit and he had barely touched it when she moaned, her hips jerking.

 _Responsive little thing, isn’t she? Good, that’ll make this easier for both of us._ Sherlock stroked her clit with his thumb, two fingers seeking out her entrance. He could feel she was starting to get wet and he thanked whatever deity was listening. Sherlock slowly slid his fingers inside her, noting how tight she was after her year of abstinence, but also how warm and wet she was becoming. He lifted his head to gaze at her as he thrusted his fingers slowly.

Molly moaned, her eyes still closed, both of her hands resting on his arms. “God… Don’t stop…”

“Never,” he murmured and he was shocked to realize he meant it. _I never want to stop, I never want to let this woman go. But she’s going to hate me when this is over, if she doesn’t already. Oh God, this is what Eurus intended, not for me to lose my head over sex, but for me to realize I lost my heart to this woman a long time ago and I’ll never have her in my arms again after this._

_Fuck!_

Returning his focus to the woman he loved instead of his own thoughts, he curled his fingers until he found her center. C _ome for me, sweetheart…_ She soon did, crying out his name as she climaxed and Sherlock swore he had never heard anything sound so beautiful. He pulled his fingers out and licked them clean while he waited for her to catch her breath.

Once she had, she smiled at him weakly. “Anatomy and physiology?”

He smirked. “Plus a few videos off John’s laptop.”

She laughed softly and he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her soundly but he knew that wouldn’t go over well. _She would never believe my newly-realized feelings for her are genuine. Eurus was planning on this, I’m sure of it. This is how she tortures me, and by extension Molly._ He silently vowed that Eurus would pay for what she was doing to them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sherlock and Molly pass Eurus' test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank my loyal readers, you guys never fail to amaze me.

Molly glanced at the table then back at him. “So … how do you want to do this?”

_You deserve to be loved in the most luxurious bed I can find,_ he wanted to say. Instead, he smiled a bit. “On the table. It’s not like we’ll be eating on it.”

She didn’t smile back. “Right.” She climbed onto the table, her feet dangling several inches off the floor.

He had never seen her look so forlorn. _She looks like she’s heading towards her execution._ He moved to stand between her legs then he gently wrapped his arms around her. Sherlock sighed quietly when she kept her eyes firmly on his chest and her hands at her sides. “Molly … I can’t say that this won’t change anything between us because we both know it will, but I promise that I will always be your friend and you will always be the one who matters the most.”

Molly looked up at him, blinking away tears. “Sherlock, I…” She trailed off then laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

Sherlock just held her for a moment, wishing he could just make everything else go away. _She deserves so much better than this, than me._ He softly stroked her hair, waiting for her to give some sign that she was ready.

After a moment, he felt her kiss his neck. He shivered then he kissed her hair and lowered a hand to his cock. Molly wrapped her legs around his waist as he guided himself to her entrance. Sherlock could feel her wetness on the tip and he hesitated. _I should tell her I love her, that it’s not just my mad sister that’s making me do this, something. Anything._ “Molly…”

“Whatever you’re going to say, don’t,” she said quietly. “Let’s just … get this over with.”

“Alright.” He didn’t say anything else as he slid into her slowly, shutting his eyes at the intense pleasure of it. Sherlock had imagined what sex would be like before, but he had only contemplated the physical side, something he was familiar enough with after masturbating whenever his body needed a release.

It was the emotional side of being with Molly, inside her, that he couldn’t have even dreamt of. He wanted to stay this connected to her forever. When he was fully inside her, he held her close and Molly buried her face in his chest. As distracted by the pleasure as he was, it took him a moment to realize she was tense in his arms. “Molly?” he asked gently.

“It’s alright,” she murmured quickly. “It’s just … you’re bigger than, well, all of my exes and it’s been a while…”

“Am I hurting you?”

“A little but it’s temporary.” She lifted her head to smile at him weakly. “It’s kind of like being a virgin again.”

He smiled back softly. “You feel amazing. I … there really are no other words to describe it.”

Molly looked like she wanted to say something but then she shook her head a bit. He could feel her body adjusting to his size and she relaxed. She nodded and he started to thrust deep and slow, gasping as pleasure shot through him.

Her expression clouded over and he knew she was at war with herself – loving the pleasure but hating the situation they were in. He murmured in her ear, “There’s nothing wrong with taking pleasure in this, Molly. Lose yourself in it, in me, the way I am losing myself in you.”

“I can’t… I keep thinking about our … our audience and what’s going to happen to us when we get out of this.”

Sherlock moved his hands to her bum, squeezing it as he moved inside her. He lowered his head until his forehead touched hers. “Forget about Eurus. She doesn’t matter now, just you and me. What will happen later is whatever we want to happen. We won’t let anyone else dictate our actions ever again.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment then she murmured, “Harder?”

He started to move harder, faster, until he was pounding into her over and over, both of them groaning. He knew Molly was on the brink and he wasn’t sure what else he could do but then she lowered a hand between them to stroke her clit. She came so hard around him that he gasped, his eyes rolled back in his head from the sublime sensation.

His own release soon followed and he swore he saw an entire damn galaxy of stars as his seed filled her. She clung to him, as breathless and sweaty as he was, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her until the end of time.

His sister had other plans. They barely got their breaths back before the door opened again and their clothes and shoes were tossed into the room. Sherlock slid out of her then he retrieved their clothes and brought them back to the table. He gave her his handkerchief to clean herself up with while he did the same with one of his socks, which he then discarded.

Neither of them spoke while they dressed. Sherlock noted with a measure of sadness that she wouldn’t even make eye contact with him. He swallowed hard then reached out a hand to her but she shied away.

“Molly…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say.

“Everyone decent?” Eurus’ too-cheerful voice asked, making them jump. “Good. Off you pop, Molly. Sherlock still has tests to pass.”

Two guards came into the room and Sherlock immediately put himself between them and Molly.

“Oh, classic male behavior!” Eurus said, delighted. “He’s given the female his seed now he wants to protect her in case she’s pregnant. Sherlock, you’re just as id-driven as I hoped you’d be. Molly, you’re going with them. Don’t put up a fight.”

Molly moved around Sherlock and followed the first guard out of the room. He tried to stop her but the second guard blocked his path. Sherlock called out her name.

She didn’t look back.

* * *

When Sherlock realized the little girl on the plane wasn’t real, he knew the nightmare had to end. He went to his sister’s room in their burned-out ancestral home and stood over her. The brokenness in her eyes didn’t move him, not after everything she did to the people he cared about.

“For Victor,” he said, his voice as deep and cold as an open grave, “for the innocents you killed at Sherrinford, for Mycroft, for John, for myself, and for Molly, I’m going to give you exactly what you deserve – nothing. You deserve nothing at all from me. No words between us, no contact at all. I imagine you’ll be going back to Sherrinford after this. For your own sake, stay there, because if I ever find out, and I will find out, that you left the safety of that prison, I will destroy you, Eurus. I should delete this night like the bad dream it is, but I never want to forget how you hurt us.”

Eurus stared at him wide-eyed. “Sherlock … all I wanted was to have you back in my life. I’ve missed you so much…”

“Forget about me.” He turned to go.

“You should be thanking me. Without me, you and Molly would still be dancing around your feelings.”

He didn’t turn back. “And you think the hell you’ve put us through is any better? Stay away, Eurus.” Sherlock walked back into the night, found his best friend and made sure his brother was alright, then he texted Molly.

_2:03a Are you at home? SH_

He waited for fifteen minutes but there was no reply.

_2:19a Molly? Please, answer me. SH_

By the time he was settled temporarily in John’s spare room, Molly still hadn’t answered him. He called her but she didn’t pick up, so he left her a message, trying hard not to sound as desperate and worried as he felt.

He failed.

* * *

First thing in the morning, he took a cab to Molly’s building. She answered when he pressed the button for the flat but she refused to buzz him in.

“Molly, please, we have to talk about this.”

“No, Sherlock. I need to take some time for myself. Please, don’t contact me again, not for a while.”

“Molly…”

She didn’t respond. He seriously contemplated going up the fire escape and picking the lock on her window but ultimately decided to give her the time and space she needed.

A week later, he found out she had sold the flat. He asked the British Government to find her but Mycroft told him the Holmes siblings had done enough to her, he wasn’t going to pry.

* * *

It was three weeks later that Sherlock finally had a valid reason to go to Bart’s morgue. He had almost gone several times for made-up reasons but Molly’s voice saying she needed time always stopped him. Finally, Greg had a case for him. The two of them walked into the morgue and Sherlock stopped dead when he saw someone else doing an autopsy.

“Where’s Dr. Hooper?” he demanded.

The pathologist, a man in his late thirties with an addiction to video games, looked confused. “Dr. Hooper took a year-long sabbatical, I would’ve thought you knew.”

Sherlock felt like his stomach had fallen into a bottomless pit. “What?”

“She asked me not to tell you,” Greg said solemnly from behind him.

Sherlock turned around and glared at him. “You knew?!”

“After what she’s been through, keeping that secret was the least I could do.”

It took all of his willpower not to throttle the detective. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know, she didn’t tell me.”

There was an ache in Sherlock’s chest, not unlike when Mary had shot him, but he pushed that aside and focused on the most important thing. “Is she … is she happy?”

“From what I hear, I wouldn’t call it ‘happy,’ but I think she’s found a kind of peace.”

_I have to be content with that, for now._ Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the pathologist. “Show me the body.”

* * *

It was another three agonizing weeks before he heard from Molly. He was in the back of a cab with John after solving a case when his mobile chirped.

_10:27p I’m pregnant. Molly_

In that moment, Sherlock felt every emotion known to man simultaneously. What won out, though, was elation, but he knew Molly might not see it the same way.

_10:30p Molly, please, I must see you. I want to talk about everything. SH_

_10:33p No, Sherlock. I’m only telling you because you have a right to know. I’m keeping it. Molly_

_Thank God,_ he thought. _She’s so good with Rosie, she’ll be the perfect mother._

_10:34p At least let me help you. I can give you whatever support you need. SH_

_10:37p You’ve done quite enough, I don’t need anything else from you. Molly_

With an aching heart and not knowing what else to do, Sherlock wrote back the one thing he needed her to know.

_10:38p I love you. SH_

_10:41p Save it for some other naïve young thing. Molly_

_10:42p Molly! It’s the truth! SH_

_10:45p No, it’s what you think I want to hear. Goodbye, Sherlock. Molly_

In pure desperation, he turned to his brother.

_10:47p I need you to tell me where Molly is. S_

_10:49p She made me promise not to. M_

_10:50p Don’t make me threaten you, Mycroft. S_

_10:52p She’s a great deal more intimidating than you are. M_

_10:53p I’m desperate. She just told me she’s pregnant. I need to see her. S_

_10:55p And what would you do if you saw her? M_

_10:56p Tell her I love her. Fall to both knees and beg her to marry me. S_

_10:58p And the child? M_

_10:59p Love the child more than any child in the history of humankind has ever been loved. S_

_11:01p I’m not sure that’s possible but alright. She’s in Edinburgh. M_

_11:02p Just give me the address and I’m on the next train. S_

_11:04p That won’t be for hours. I do have a helicopter at my disposal. M_

_11:05p You’re officially godfather. S_

_11:07p I would expect nothing less. M_

* * *

Sherlock ran up the path to the cottage Molly had inherited from her Scottish grandparents. He knew it was the middle of the night and he knew she was likely sleeping but he also knew that this couldn’t wait. He pounded on the door several times before he saw a light come on through the decorative glass at the top of the door.

Then it opened and Sherlock felt like he couldn’t breathe.

Molly was standing there in a pair of cartoon kitten pajamas and a threadbare bathrobe, blinking at him sleepily. She swallowed hard. “Just answer one question first. Mycroft was under strict orders not to tell you until he heard you say something specific. Did he hear it?”

He smiled softly, relaxing. “I told him that I love you and I love our child.” Sherlock pulled a blue velvet ring box out of his pocket then he knelt before her. “I’ll say it again. Molly Hooper, I love you. I didn’t realize it until that day, but I think I’ve loved you all along. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much. I want to raise our child with you and have a few more besides.” He smiled weakly. “That is, if you’ll let me touch you again.”

Tears were running down her face and he wasn’t sure if they were happy tears but then she knelt in front of him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face in his shirt. Sherlock wrapped his arms around her, whispering into her hair, “Please, Molly, I need to know, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she murmured.

Sherlock was certain that his triumphant shout could be heard as far away as London.


End file.
